By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
NASHVILLE — The first one is out of the way.
De’Aaron Fox and Isaiah Briscoe scored 20 points each to lead top-seeded and No. 8 Kentucky to a 71-60 win over Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday at Bridgestone Arena.
The Wildcats (27-5) advance to the semifinals and will take on Alabama at 1 p.m. Saturday in Nashville. Georgia, which edged Tennessee 57-55 in the second round, awaits its postseason fate and hopes its 19-14 record is enough to land one of 68 coveted spots in the NCAA Tournament.
“The first game is always a hard one, especially when you’re talking a good team, and, you know, Mark (Fox) did just an unbelievable job all year,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “With (Yante) Maten out, they still won. He comes back and they play here, and they deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament, I believe that.”
Kentucky swept Georgia in overtime 90-81 in Lexington and 82-77 in Athens during the regular season but had an easier time in the postseason opener, largely thanks to Fox, Briscoe and Bam Adebayo, who added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Kentucky guard Malik Monk admitted it’s hard to “beat a team three times” in one season, but said the Wildcats were more energetic from the opening tip, leading to the double-digit victory over the Bulldogs.
“We came out with way more energy than they did,” Monk said.
The Wildcats, winners of nine straight, had to rally to win their last three games of the regular-season, but forced Georgia to play from behind and never relinquished the lead. Led by Fox, the Wildcats made four of their first five shots from the field and raced out to an early lead that quickly blossomed to 25-12 with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Briscoe said starting the game fast was a “major focus” for the Wildcats leading up to the contest.
“We wanted to come out with a lot of energy and press early and get the game to speed up,” Briscoe said. “That was the emphasis all week in practice. I think we executed coming out today.”
Although Georgia mounted a brief rally, Kentucky managed to keep its lead — a 32-25 advantage at the break — despite playing without Fox and Monk in the final nine minutes of the first half. The absence of the two guards provided a small window of opportunity for the Bulldogs, one that closed quickly in the second half.
Kentucky scored the first six points of the second half — three by Fox — to put away the winded Bulldogs, who shot just 33 percent, including a 30 percent clip in the opening half.
Calipari said his team’s defensive effort proved to be a difference in the game.
“(The) postseason is about being able to make it hard for the other team,” Calipari said. “The second day in postseason (you’ve) got to be able to score. If you think you can score 60 points in post-season game and win. … at the end of the day, it’s how hard can we make it on the other team to score. You know, we were pretty locked in.”
Monk, the league’s player of the year, tallied a season-low two points, marking the second straight game he’s failed to reach double figures. Monk scored just six in a 71-63 victory over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale. Monk couldn’t recall the last time he scored two points or less but liked the final result.
“I I don’t think I’ve ever (scored just two points in a game),” Monk said. “It’s all right though. We won and I’m happy with it.”
Georgia standout J.J. Frazier was held scoreless in the first 16 minutes before scoring six to close out the half. Frazier tallied a career-high 36 points in the last meeting between the two teams. Frazier failed gain much traction against the Wildcats and finished with 15 points. Frazier made just four shots on 17 attempts from the field.
“We tried to corral him in transition,” Fox said. “We knew a big part of it was pick and roll. He killed us. He killed us last time on the pick and roll. We were able to execute. He still going to score. You can’t completely shut him out. We did a much better job this game.”
Gametracker: Kentucky vs. South Carolina-Alabama winner, 1 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter